March Author Spotlight

Spring is just around the corner, perfect timing to feature Alison Ashley Formento on this month’s author showcase. Welcome, Alison! Your award-winning books are sure to bring us some long overdue warmth and sunshine.

Please share a little about your books.

I love writing short stories so I’m very proud of my published picture book series THESE THINGS COUNT! Five books, so far, and they all illustrate my love of nature and how what we do in our surroundings counts in this world. I happen to love writing for teens, too, and I’m happy to share my debut young adult novel TWIGS, featuring a main character by the same name, who is small of stature, and of spirit, but finds the way to face to the weirdness in her life.

How has where you’ve lived or traveled influenced your work?Anywhere I’ve hiked from the Sierra Madre Mountains in California to the Ozarks to the Appalachian Trail has nurtured my interest and love of nature. This interest in hiking and especially in caring for our natural world spurred my picture books series. Growing up in Arkansas definitely inspired the small town characters I’ve written about in TWIGS. Currently, I’m inspired by a certain famous skyscraper in New York as one of the settings in a new novel I’m writing.

Could you briefly tell us your writing process?

Walk, think, shower, think, walk, think. Sit and doodle. Draw several trees. Stop doodling. Write what I’ve thought about. Write, write, write. Write like the wind! Time passes… Revise, revise, revise. Doodle, eat chocolate, and reread story many times. Take a deep breath and finally send story to writing friends. Revise again based on notes from friends. Send story to agent. Fill heart with hope that she can sell it to a publisher. Walk, think, shower, think, walk, think about a new story while waiting for news.

What advice would you give to new authors hoping to become published?Don’t stop writing just because your work is rejected. It will get rejected time and time again—that’s part of this writing business. Keep improving your craft, and keep submitting, until some agent or editor says yes to your story.

Five favorites:a. favorite book = I’ll have to keep reading until I can answer this question. b. favorite movie = This changes like the moon for me. Wizard of Oz, Forest Gump, Birdman (this year) c. favorite vacation = Jamaica for the lovely people and beaches. New York City for character, not to mention great theatre and museums. d. favorite hobby = Reading, of course, followed by nature hikes. e. favorite color = Green!

If you weren’t a children’s book author, what career(s) would you like to try?

Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Expert travel guide capable of speaking any language Royal tea taster at Buckingham Palace

It is always such a treat to learn about new authors on your author spotlight posts. I especially enjoyed learning about Alison Formento. I love picture books that carry an important message for children. I will be looking up these books, as well as her new young adult reader Twigs!. A wonderful post!

What a fun interview! And I love Alison’s process: hot showers and plenty of chocolate!! And I really like these books, too. TWIGS sounds really interesting. Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful new (to me!) author!

I sometimes get a little weary of author interviews, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Serious and funny in equal parts and I laughed out loud when I read the walk, think, shower, think, walk, think line, it always pays to be clean while thinking! Thanks Alison and Marcia.

This is such a delightful interview to read. Love Alison’s writing routine because it sounds like mine and I’d love to be a Royal Tea Taster, too! Her picture book series look very beautiful. Nature is an important subject all over the world. And Twigs sounds like a character I’d want to learn more about. I had a good time here, Alison and Marcia!

“Strykowski ably depicts Amy’s insecurity and self-doubt, Craig’s bravura and pain, and Miss Cogshell’s wisdom with a deft, convincing touch. In essence, Amy comes of age as she fights to find her voice in the outside world and shed some of her debilitating insecurity. Readers will cheer her on, and her splendid team, too.” –BOOKLIST

"The protagonist grows throughout the story, from a shy loner to having two friends and speaking her mind in front of her adversaries at school as well as to the whole town. …Amy is a reliable narrator and easily relatable.” –SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

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More Praise

“To do a good deed, we can find friendship in the most curious of locations. “Call Me Amy” is a novel from Marcia Strykowski following the struggles of Amy Henderson, who finds an injured seal and seeks to nurse it, with the help of a scorned aging woman and an unusual youth. Set in the early 70s and exploring the essence of loneliness, “Call Me Amy” is a powerful read that should prove so very hard to put down, highly recommended.”—MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

“This is a wonderful YA tale for the simple fact that it shows one and all that the power and courage to stand up and be heard in this life comes from within. And that no matter who you are, you have that toughness inside your soul. Craig has a lovely heart that hides behind that sarcasm he aims at the world, and he will remind every small town girl about that quiet boy she fell in love with long ago. ‘Old Coot’ brings the fun and humor along with her, and Pup is the sweetest creature in the world. Having all the ingredients of first love, faith, loss and strength makes ‘Amy’ unforgettable.” —FEATHERED QUILL

“For Amy, 1973 has been a lonely year, her only friend moved away and she feels awkward around her classmates. Until one day Amy discovers that Craig, another classmate, has rescued an injured seal pup. Amy agrees to help him and together they hide the pup at Miss Cogshell’s house, the odd old lady most kids call “Old Coot.” Amy learns that people aren’t always what they seem to be, and she forms a friendship with Craig and Miss Cogshell. A great story about friendship and doing what you think is right.” —KIDSBOOKSHELF

“For those ages 8 to 12, Call Me Amy by Marcia Strykowski will resonate with familiar themes of growing up. The year is 1973 and for Amy Henderson, it has been a lonely one with too many awkward moments to count. When she finds an injured seal pup, she rescues him to rehabilitate him. In the process she forms an unlikely alliance with Craig, a boy around her age, and an older woman in town. With their help she discovers that people aren’t always what they seem despite what others may think of them. This is a story filled with many elements that will appeal to younger readers and I highly recommend it.”—BOOKVIEWS.COM

"A wounded seal pup propels 13-year-old Amy Henderson into an unlikely alliance with an unusual older woman and a mysterious boy in a small Maine fishing village. Readers will cheer for Amy as she protects Pup, gains confidence, faces challenges, and comes up with an idea that could change not only the future of her village, but also, her own life. With a skillful hand, Strykowski introduces us to a small town with memorable characters and the girl who could bring them all together." ---Anne Broyles, award-winning author of PRISCILLA AND THE HOLLYHOCKS

"In a small town in Maine in the 1970's, Amy is standing on the brink of becoming a young adult. The events that will force her to discover who she is, what she is made of and how she wants others to perceive her are sweetly told through awkward teenage moments, the triumphs and sadnesses of that age and ultimately, Amy's discovery of her own beliefs, strength and courage." ---Kathleen Benner Duble, acclaimed author of THE SACRIFICE

“Call Me Amy is exactly the type of book I love. The characters are relatable and likeable; they are individuals that the reader enjoys getting to know while watching them change and develop. The setting of the small Maine coastal town is idyllic, and the reader is quickly and completely immersed in this community. Although the novel takes place in the 1970s, it feels timeless. Young readers will readily associate with Amy’s struggles and triumphs with her relationships with family and friends, and mature readers will be gently nudged back to this period in their life. These universal qualities make this novel a perfect choice for many types of readers. As a Youth Services Librarian, I would enthusiastically recommend Call Me Amy to our young patrons as well as to a more adult audience. Because it can be enjoyed on so many levels, this novel would be an ideal source of discussion for an adult/child book group.” ---Patty Falconer, Youth Services Librarian

"I just finished CALL ME AMY and I think it is wonderful with beautiful descriptions. I love the characters and their story. It is like having seen a good play or movie and later, while you are doing other things, it comes back to you and you think about the characters again." ---Peggy Arnold, retired teacher and avid reader.

For 13-year-old Amy Henderson, 1973 has been a lonely and uneventful year in her small Maine fishing village. With the help of a wounded seal pup, she gets to know Craig, who slinks around in an oversized army jacket. A new law against handling wild marine mammals brings suspense to the story. Where can they keep Pup until he heals? Their only hope is to trust Miss Cogshell, an elderly woman keeping to herself amidst jeers from the local kids, who catches them sneaking Pup into her woodshed in the middle of the night. Throughout the book, small challenges prepare Amy for her greatest one of all. A challenge that leads her to discover that everyone, herself included, has a voice worth hearing.